Mechanical Heart
by heavenlygothicgirl
Summary: Rick and His group are lost. winter is upon them and with no food, not even a hunter in their group, they are staring. Kidnapped, witnessing a monster, and still looking for a home, what will Rick have to do, to feel secure?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: so I should be working on my other chapter story but im having writers block for them. (I will watch amzing spider man and hansel and Gretel, maybe the two avengers this week and be back for it but for now,) I had this written on paper back before navy and I just finished watching the end of season 5 (cries) so I hope you like it. I forgot what made my mind think of this. I know a part of it was my obsession with werewolf Daryl and sexy alpha (still human) Rick.**

 **Disclaimer: no own, not complex in my own writing to own such a delectable show**

Wondering. That's what they did now. Rarely could they even stay the whole night in a single place. Lori was showing now and the group could barely feed themselves, let alone a pregnant lady.

"Are you sure we should go this far out of our grid?" asked Carol from beside Rick in the front seat. Rick's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, trying not to second guess himself. Even if it was a bad idea the group knew they either go with and do as he says or go off alone and most likely die soon after. They all followed him. Fearful yes, but they trusted him as well.

"We have no choice." Was all he supplied. They continued driving till they reached the town Rick chose. It was already late but they needed to find food and secure a place for the night. The group steps out of their respective vehicles and they all fall into a circle around Rick waiting to be told what to do. "T-Dog, Carl, and Glenn, go and find a place to sleep tonight. Everyone else, come with me, we look for food." Some left with apprehension, not used to splitting up. Others kept their minds on the job at hand. "We meet back here before sunset." Rick stated gruffly. Rick led with a careful but confident stride. The others walked to catch up as soundlessly as possible and went from house to house, store to store. They did not go far from the meeting place. Sunset was close at hand before they even started. With a small bag of food and medical supplies, Rick's group jog back to the meeting place to get back at the appropriate time. Glenn, welcomes them with good news as the sun's light dies behind him.

"We found a place for the night. It has lots of food." An instant passes and the group has a lighter feel around them from his words. They would finally have full bellies for the night. T-Dog leads the way for the group to a rather plain house. One could pass right by it without noticing. They go around back to find a small shed, placed near the outer edge of the enclosed back yard and when Carl opens it, there are stairs.

"It's a bunker," Hershel supplies as the group looks on in amazement. One by one they all make their way inside with Rick staying behind to watch their surroundings. When he is satisfied with the uncharacteristically quiet environment he turns to go inside, but halts mid step. He heard something. It was faint, barely there. A curse word from a man was carried on the wind and he decided that only he would take the watch tonight while the others stay in awe by what was down below ground.

"Holy shit, someone was ready for the end." Maggie says. The group claims spots as theirs and gather around the food found while Carol takes stock of everything in the room. There was enough to eat comfortably for two weeks. The biggest haul yet.

"We will eat what we gathered tonight, tomorrow we pack everything we can into the cars." Rick states. The haul tonight was decent enough that they would not be hungry so the group treated tonight as a celebration. Rick stepped out after he finished his small plate. Eating just enough to let the others have their fill. They were all smiling, a treasured sight even if Rick does not show it. He relaxed his stiff body for a few moments though. Down in the cellar, The group found a single bottle of wine in their merry making. Rick gave Glenn a nod of approval before he stepped out and the group yelled in pleasure. His family was full. His family was happy. Now to keep it that way for the night. Once out and in between a rose bush and a dying tree Rick settles and listens to the night, paying no head to the stars above, only staring out before him and listening for anything behind.

Rick shakes his head to rouse his tired mind from a long night of watch standing. The man was not just a man, it was a group. He growls low to himself in frustration. They were far enough he did not wake the group, and eventually the sounds from them were dead silent. A feeling in his gut told him that it wasn't good. Rick goes back inside and wakes everyone up with as much kindness as a wood chipper to a pile of wood.

"Everyone up, we leave now!" he didn't have to yell, his growl of an order got everyone moving no questions asked. Maggie was the first to get done, whispering to Rick to know what was going on. He says nothing, Maggie instantly drops it. Once everyone was done they all head out, jumping in their respective cars after packing them full of all the food they found and immediately driving away from the town entirely. The group was nervous. The ones who shared Rick's car would look at him, confused, thinking he did not notice. Rick couldn't shake that feeling. The feeling that has kept him alive thus far. The feeling that he needed to get away. He felt naked. He always wished he could stop this feeling but at least it helped him survive. They get a mile out before they meet a road block that blows Rick's tires. The other three cars managed to stop in time after watching his car skid a few feet farther. Rick fishtails it to a stop and unbuckles himself in a frenzy. "Grab what you can carry and run." Out of the car and sprinting back with arms full of supplies; Beth, Carol, Rick and Lori retreat back to the other cars. Half way there they are swarmed by a crowd of men. Rick fights back instantly with intent to kill every one of them. He takes down one swiftly with his knife, then another, but his world quickly goes black and a ringing in his ears tells him he got hit hard in the head. It wasn't peaceful blackness that greeted him in this world. It was dead hands grabbing and tearing at him. Pulling him farther and farther under filth being hidden by the dark subconscious. He kicked and fought until finally he saw a figure of light. With animalistic determination, he dives for it, violently coming to. Looking around frantically he sees he is behind bars in a bland room of cement and more bars. Jail cells. They were in a police station. Ironic really, Rick a sheriff, now behind bars by psychopaths. He would probably had laughed if he hadn't forgotten how to. Rick turns his head to see he was sharing a cell with Carol and T-Dog. The next one over held Hershel Lori and Glenn. The one after that held Beth and Carl. Everyone is accounted for but he does not relax his permanently stiff muscles. "Carol, is everyone ok?" said woman was currently assessing Carl and Beth then turns to Rick.

"No one has anything worse than a bump on the head. What do you think they want with us?" Rick looks to and fro to figure a plan but all he comes back to are cold iron bars. He sighs.

"Nothing good. Nothing is ever good." They didn't wait long after everyone woke up. A man, largely built with blonde dreads to his waist stomps through the door with a younger man trailing behind, strapped with leather strips as clothing. Rick doesn't feel any better with the group that abducted him. He examines the man in bondage. He was strong with working hands.

"Hey Boy, my name is Rex. A nick name really but that doesn't matter. Welcome to my temporary living space." He stretches out his arms to gesture to the room around and probably what is on the outside as well. "So you have two choices, be part of our group and we won't kill you, refuse and die. I'm not one to beat around the bush so I hope this is straight forward enough for you." Rick glares with eyes of a cold abyss. Rex's eyes take it in with apprehension. He then pulls the younger man down and slams him on the ground to kneel. Rick sees the mop of dark brown cover eyes that are empty. He notices a tan line that suggests sleeveless was how he went and from where he stood, scars littered his back. Rex snaps his fingers at Rick. "What do you choose?" Rick growls.

"No." He has no idea what to do but he knows he won't join. Not even long enough to get out with no guarantee of them being together anyways. Rick notices a uniform under the rags of the blonde, a janitor, with a nametag that reads Richard. Said man sighs, then gets up, kicking the boy to the side.

"Fine, you can see my secret weapon then." He smirks at them. "Ty, bring me the mutt's suit." A man comes in that looks scrawny and malnourished. He pushed in a huge crate on wheels the size of a grown man. Ty takes off the lid to reveal a machine that resembles that of a dog skeleton. The man, probably the mutt that was spoken of, starts whimpering quietly. Rex turns to him sharply. "Shut the fuck up dog. You do as your master says." He then picks him up by the neck and holds him up to the machine skeleton. A moment of silence passes and the machine awakens to merge with the guy, bones of metal clamping down on his body like an exoskeleton. He struggles only slightly as he is pushed inside the machine. The metal lines his body but then it starts to spread around his body like a metal cocoon making him turn into that of a metal dog. It stand there, unmoving for a minute then jumps out in a flash, landing on all fours. The helmet covers his entire face with a black visor to see out of. The only visible part of the guy within is the joints to allow flexible movements. "Kill them, slowly and painfully." Rex leaves the room with such an at ease stride he might as well have been finished talking about the weather. Once the door shuts the machine moves toward the three jail cells with an almost forced stride. Rick notices a dark red light outlining the visor. The boy, now machine, stalks toward the cell that hold the youngest of the group. Hershel yells at it to leave them alone and Lori cries in fear of losing Carl. Rick gets up and starts ramming himself against the cell door landing with loud thuds and screaming at it to stop. It falters. Rick sits on the ground with an almost dislocated shoulder and watches in horror. But it just stands there. Still as if time had stopped. It tilts his head to one side and growls. Rick feels his heart clench. What nightmare has his mind taken him to? Its tail moves like a whip and opens the cell, almost ripping it off its hinges. Carl screams for him and Rick's instincts that have lain dormant for so long have activated full force, making him scream at the thing threats he never thought he'd make up himself. But it just walks to the next cell and does the same then comes to his. He notices how forced the movements are. As if something were holding him back. When his cell is ripped open, the thing howls in a mechanical dog sound for pain. It looks at him and Rick can't help picturing those empty eyes begging him for something.

"Kill those men," Rick grunts out, going by instinct. "And I won't kill you." The light on its helmet that glows red flickers, as if a war between that light and the man were raging until finally, it stops.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" a scream comes from the man mixed with pure pain and anger that raises the hair on Rick's neck. With great speed it jumps through the door and out of sight. He heard it though. He heard the cries of the other men in the group. Pure agony and some please of mercy. Rick shakes his head.

"We leave, grab weapons and kill anyone you see." He leads the charge and picks up weapons off of the other men that now lay dead. Skulls crushed and heads ripped clean off. Armed to the teeth, Rick guides them outside and he is greeted with a sci-fi scene of machine against man. Machine was losing. "Get to that van." Rick points as they sprint. The machine was providing a distraction that they go unnoticed and climb in. Rick searches for the keys and find them in the center console. He jams them in and drives straight through the chaos and outside of town barely missing the obstacles from his speed and running over a few walkers in his haste. He doesn't stop. No one expected him to. It was them or the wolf.

"Think the guy made it?" Carl asks from behind the driver seat. Rick doesn't answer. He glares at the road, hoping against hope that they will be free of whatever that was. His gut, however, laughed at him for thinking such things.


	2. Chapter 2

They were an hour out. He was pushing a hundred the whole time and Rick still could not relax. The gas was almost out though so they started to look for fuel whenever they saw a car or a shop with nothing to prove.

"We lost the food, and now we are gonna walk with crazy men after us." Lori says, arms crossed. Rick would not even deal with her right now. Carl stood by T-dog, farthest from Lori but he held the same stance. Everyone else just looks like they are pondering and planning. Trying to help figure a solution. He doesn't blame his wife or his son. Not for the Shane problem. Carl still comes to him from time to time. He cannot forgive Lori for what her actions said when he told her about Shane. He cannot forget what her eyes say every day they look at him. _Why not you?_ Rick walks along the road. Farmland on each side. Walkers dot the distance, not much to worry about, unless more gather. Rick sighs, looking toward the woods, to find a place. He looks to the group, at their faces, then back to the distance. Walkers are gone, vanished. Rick feels something but it wasn't like before with the need to survive. It wanted him to keep looking. So he looked, he saw a faint metal shine amongst the trees before Hershel grabs his arm.

"We need to keep moving, find a place. The nights are getting cold now and we don't have the supplies to keep us warm now." Rick takes one last look and follows the old man to his group. They all pile in the car till it finally stops and can't go any more. Everyone steps out, knowing to grab what they could carry and walk. Rick stayed in the car, staring at the steering wheel but not seeing it. A nightmare within a nightmare, he thought this world couldn't get any crazier, but it proved him wrong. A yell from T-dog sounds from outside the car. Rick snaps to attention to see a small heard of walkers coming right for them.

"Carl get back." Lori cries. He was going for the sheriff hat that he remembers hearing Carl throw in a fit of frustration. It was across the road. He shot two walkers down with five bullets and right as he grabs the hat, a walker grabs him. Rick was out and half way across the road when they swarm his son. Rick pulls out a gun he took from the dead men from before, and shoots two walkers. A howl from the woods distracts him momentarily and after he takes down another of the ten, a silver wolf jumps from the trees, sending three flying. He stands over Carl, curled in a ball, and whips two away with his tail, breaking their spines, swiping another two and throwing their heads far from the limp bodies. Rick continued to shoot as the machine from before finishes the others. Once all are dead, Rick stares at the wolf, standing tall on all fours. Extensions were added to his front to make him stand more naturally. He didn't move. He only stared.

"What do you want?" Rick growls. It faltered in its stance then collapses next to Carl. He gets up and looks him over.

"Dad, he's bleeding badly." Rick jogs over and kneels before the machine man. Before he even touches him the exoskeleton shifts. It retracts back to just lining the body revealing the man underneath covered in leather straps. He had a gunshot that goes all the way through and a sprained ankle.

"We- we can't do anything. We have to keep moving." He wasn't even convinced by his own words. He saved them, twice. And he didn't even know them. Hershel puts a hand on Rick's shoulder.

"That farm house doesn't look bad. The fences are tall. We could try looking over there to rest. Bring him so we can at least treat him for all he has done for us." He remembers when they last held a stranger. And that same night all hell broke loose. But something was different. The feeling from before, of him looking into the distance, searching. Who is this man? Why does he feel that it will be ok? Rick nods at Hershel's idea and moves to inform the group. T-dog carries the man as they make their way across the property. They saw no walkers all the way up to the house. Rick and Glenn take lead, followed by Maggie and Carol. They burst in, clearing every room. Rick goes up stairs once the first floor was cleared. The others search the house for supplies and T-dog brings his load upstairs and into the master bedroom, once Rick loudly whispers "clear". Hershel still had his minimal supplies and started working. He cut off the leather leaving the man bare. T-dog excuses himself. Rick stands by the bed.

"Rick, this was in one of the straps." In Hershel's hand was his colt. Maggie and Beth rush in with towels and what they found in the house. Beth then said she was going to search the fields with T-dog for some herbs to help treat the wound. "Rick, he's waking up." The man stirs and they all freeze. He jerks awake and Rick holds him down swiftly.

"We ain't gonna hurt you, just trying to treat your wounds. If you struggle much more you'll die." He lies their stiff, eyes filled with fear as he stares at Rick. Rick nods to Hershel to continue. He flinches and Rick tries to take his attention. "We don't have much to help numb ya so it will hurt a bit. What's your name?" He tries to speak how he used to. But he could feel how gruff it was despite his efforts. The man breathes hard and fast as Hershel continues to work on him. He growls and closes his eyes.

"Why you care?" very rough, also southern. Redneck crosses Rick's mind.

"Want me to call you dog or robot?" he made a slight joke with that but the Redneck stiffens and opens his eyes for a glare.

"Fuck you, and its Daryl, mother fucker." He mumbles the last curse, voice weak as if he isn't used to using it. Daryl is the mystery guy's name.

"I'm Rick, he is Hershel and that's Maggie." He nods to each one, not letting go of him, in case he attacks out of shear panic. He apparently noticed.

"Get the fuck off me Officer Friendly." Rick raises a brow at that and eases his hands back to his side. Hershel finishes not long after that.

"Rest now, you got to us just in time." Daryl snorts. They had put him under the blankets not long after they undressed him, probably best since he woke up right after that.

"How'd you find us?" Rick asks Daryl, who was staring at the now closed door.

"Smelled for ya." Rick took a moment to figure that out. Must have been why he had the colt but how could he? Maybe the suit.

"How'd you end up with that suit? With that group?" Daryl ignored him. He was stiff and Rick guessed he wasn't good with people around him.

"Why'd you help us?" he turns over, his back to him. Rick growls in annoyance, stands and walks out. Before he shuts the door he hears him say one word.

"Instinct." And so he shuts the door and rejoins the group downstairs. They all are gathered in the living room. Once he steps into said room they turn to look at him, an obvious question on their mind.

"We stay the night and leave in the morning. Without him." Before, they may have asked him to reconsider, but he ordered it, which is law now. "He saved me." His son says. Carl has yet to go against him. And now he is making his resolve crumble when it wasn't fully supporting his own order in the first place. He says nothing. Carl continues to stand as Rick turns his back and goes upstairs. He isn't even sure why but he stands outside that room. Listening. Waiting. The sun goes down on the house they stay in, and Rick listen to his group reinforce the windows and doors. Rick can't move. Can't stop wondering about Daryl. He can't explain it, nor control it. Control. He needs it otherwise everything falls apart. Daryl can't stay. Rick can't help but be filled with anger with himself, with him. Glenn walks up once the group settles. He held clothes in his arms.

"We found him a change of clothes." He makes no move to go in. he waits for Rick to tell him. Instead Rick takes the clothes and goes in. The man lay sleeping. But he notices his breathing change slightly. He lays the clothes at the foot of the bed, stands for a minute, caught between the want to continue talking and the want to leave. He opts to leave and stands outside the door yet again. Hershel approaches from the stairs.

"We leave a good man to die?" Rick knows he'd die if left in such a state.

"He's not our problem." Hershel shakes his head.

"He saved us, he saved your son. If he's not our problem then we deserved to die back there." He leaves Rick, not giving him the opportunity to say anything further. So instead, he paces. And at the other end of the hall, he punches a hole in the wall. Below, no one stirred. Rick leans against the wall and slides down, going into a catatonic state till morning. He was awakened by Carol.

"He's gone. He left through the window. Carl is gone too." Everything was a blur. Rick gets ups and stalks outside in a frenzy, screaming for Carl till Glenn all but tackles him to be quiet. He has them spread out. A circle from the farm house out. They all stay within sight of each other. He walks to the other end of the property and turns back to see Carol walk into the barn not far from him. Carol felt something, much like a tug she gets when she looked for Sophia before the apocalypse. How she knew where she hid no matter what. She heard Carl's voice, as if he were coaxing an animal out of hiding.

"I wanted to say thank you. Daryl right? How did you get that machine attached to you?" Carol goes to the back and finds a stall filled with hay. She sees a dark figure hiding in between them, as if it was a house with the hay bells as its bricks. It was almost cute. If the man, Daryl apparently, wasn't glaring daggers at the boy. But if he were dangerous, he wouldn't have saved Carl. If he were a bad man, he wouldn't have fought to go against the men who had him. She takes off her back pack and pulls out a can of beans she had found last night. She was saving it for Lori, but she is pretty sure Daryl needs it more.

"Carl, if he doesn't want to talk let him be." She kneels next to Carl, who stares on in childlike wonder, something lost from him long ago.

"It's just so crazy though. He is like a comic book character." Carol tosses the can to him.

"We won't hurt you. You don't have to come out, but you can have that." Daryl crawls out carefully. He had a metal tail swaying so naturally, Carol did a double take. The place where the helmet was now lays like a crown and two pieces of metal that stand like ears. He grabs the can. His hands have thin metal rods tracing where his bones are, all the way up to his fingers creating small claws. Daryl uses them to open the can and drinks from it.

"You have met Carl, I'm Carol. So your name is Daryl. Thank you for all you've done." As he scrapes the insides of the can, the trio hears the bar door open. Daryl drops the can but when he goes to jump back into his shelter, his ankle gives out, making him fall into them. Rick appears to see the aftermath as Daryl pulls himself out of the hay. He was sweating and wincing from obvious pain.

"Carl, you know never to leave the group like that. Carol, take him back to the house." They all move to do what he says. Carl gives him a pleading look. Rick gives him no sign of acknowledgment. Daryl tries to stand but ends up falling back on the hay. Rick moves toward him, cautious but showing no sign of fear.

"You keep moving like that and you'll reopen the wound." The metal ears move as if hearing him. He snorts.

"Like you fucking care. I was wrong about you." Rick moves closer to him.

"What are you wrong about?" Daryl spits at him, eyes filled with a fire that looks to have been waiting to burn free. Rick almost smiles, it was a sight that made him feel right, almost relaxed. He closes the distance and Daryl tries to move back but is stopped by the mound of hay. He attempts to kick him and punch him but, in his weakened state, Rick easily subdues him, hands down at his sides, Rick leaning over him. Fear, Rick's heart turned so tight it hurt. He was afraid of him, no, afraid of what he could do.

"Let me take you back so you can rest. We can afford one more day then we will head out into the woods. You need to be at your strongest." He squints at him, not trusting him but no longer fighting back. "I'm gonna let you go but you have to promise you won't fight." He continues to glare but nods slightly. Rick lets go and he dodges to the side to get some distance. Rick lets him regroup and gets close enough to extend a hand. He growls like the dog he is compared to, metal ears going down to his skull. He doesn't move, just lets his hand stay in reach. Slowly, Daryl stops growling but keeps glaring till he moves his hand towards Rick's, Daryl's claws brushing Rick's fingers and the barn door opens.

"Walkers, we need to leave." Yells Glenn, Rick grabs Daryl and supports his weight. He growls low but allows Rick to pull him along.

"Get the others, we go into the forest, lose them in there." He half runs, half walks Daryl to the edge of the property. The rest follow not far behind his slow pace. As they make their way into the woods, he lists them all to make sure they all made it. T-dog brings up the rear and he continues on as the Walkers take the house. Carol had set a boiling pot of tea on the gas stove. The Walkers took the bait, letting them escape with only a few stragglers. As they went Rick carried Daryl. Twice he was offered to take a break and let the others carry him. Twice he looked into Daryl's eyes he tried to hide behind his hair. Both times, his eyes told him only he was allowed to touch him. Why? Rick couldn't fathom. He was not kind, nor gentle. He saw his hands as cruel instruments, and the world, untrustworthy. But Daryl continued to let him hold him, carry him. The sun set on them and they have no shelter in the middle of the woods. "We camp here, Glenn, take first watch." Glenn takes his spot on a log as the others prepare for a restless night of uncertainty. Rick knows Daryl wants space, so he takes him to the outer edge of the group. Daryl eases himself from Rick's hold and plops down against a tree, its roots cradling him. He says nothing. Rick knows he won't. He stays by his side though. Waiting for the group to pass what food they have. Carol comes over bringing a plate with a scoop of peaches and beans each.

"Sorry, we are out of utensils." Rick felt a bit sheepish. He ate his two bites as Carol goes and hands it to Daryl. His head sways against the tree and attempts to grab it. As Rick lets go, he catches it from falling out of Daryl's hands. He was exhausted. Rick takes the plate and sits next to Daryl. He was going to hold it till he could himself but Daryl growls low, to not be heard by others.

"Feed myself. Fuck off." Rick actually felt his lips tug upwards. This man, in a time span of a day and a half, has accomplished the impossible. He made him smile. So Rick sits by him, waiting, as the others sit together, waiting till they can sleep despite their own restlessness. Daryl looks almost gone now. So Rick attempts what might end with him losing a finger. He scrapes a small bite of the beans and hovers it to his lips. Daryl almost passed out opens on instinct. As he chews, Rick sees him awaken enough to realize what just happened. When he swallows a growl comes from his throat. "Ain't nobody's pet." This conversation is certainly strange.

"Never said you were." Rick scrapes the last bite of beans to his lips and Daryl glares at it, but takes it anyway.

"Got a death wish?" Rick takes a peach on the spoon and offers it.

"Would you grant it?" then the last. Daryl says nothing after that. Simply chewing the last of the rations and goes back to sleep. He wasn't scared of death. He was afraid of losing those he cared about. Cared enough for to stop being human in a world of monsters. But Rick looks at Daryl as if he was something that could fix that. He had hope for the first time. If not for him and his group but for what he sees this man could do. What he can become. What he already is.


End file.
